Rubber encasing braid



April 7, 1959 L. H. MITCHELL RUBBER ENCASING BRAID Filed June 24, 1955INVENTOR. 1,4 WIPE/V65 1% M/TKA [ZZ United States Patent RUBBER ENCASINGBRAID Lawrence H. Mitchell, Collingswood, NJ.

Application June 24, 1955, Serial No. 517,692

1 Claim. (Cl. 28-78) The present invention relates to braids and isconcerned primarily with a braid which encases a strip of sponge rubber.

At the present time, many fabrics and articles are made of braids. Agood example of such an article is a rug that comprises a plurality ofturns of a braid which are stitched together in side-by-side relation.An article such as a rug should have a good cushioning etfect and thisinvention is founded on the belief that sponge rubber will provide sucha cushioning effect to a degree and of a type heretofore unattained.

With the foregoing conditions in mind, the present invention has in viewas its foremost objective the provision of a braid which encases a stripof sponge rubber. While there are braids of difierent types andcharacter, the invention has particularly in mind a figure-eight braidwith each loop of the figure-eight receiving a strip of sponge rubber.Such a braid provides, in elfect, two strips in side-by-side relation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a braid of thecharacter indicated in which two or more strips of sponge rubber areclosely assembled in abutting relation and encased by the braid. More indetail, the invention has as an object the provision of a figure-eightbraid in which each loop of the figure-eight encases two or more stripsof sponge rubber.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a rug comprising aplurality of turns of a rubber encasing braid of the character aboveindicated which are maintained in assembled relation by stitching orother appropriate means.

In providing a braid in accordance with the above noted objectives, justabout any yarn may be employed. Thus, the invention comprehends the useof a yarn made from wool, cotton, or synthetic fibers, or a yarn madefrom any combination of such fibers. The important feature of theinvention is the structure of the braid encasing the strip of spongerubber.

The invention also contemplates utilizing rubber strips having crosssections of varying sizes and shapes. Thus, the rubber strip may besquare in cross section, rectangular, round, or oval, depending on theparticular article which is to be made from the braid.

An important advantage which attaches to a braid of the character aboveindicated is that it makes it possible to stitch or sew the strips ofsponge rubber together in assembled relation. Ordinarily, the stitchingof sponge rubber is not practical and is carried out with greatdifficulty. However, with the sponge rubber encased in a braid, thesedifficulties are obviated.

Various other more detailed objects and advantages of the invention,such as arise in connection with carrying out the above-noted ideas in apractical embodiment, will in part become apparent and in part behereinafter stated as the description of the invention proceeds.

The invention, therefore, comprises a braid enclosing a strip of spongerubber and more particularly a figureeight braid with each loop of thefigure-eight encasing one or more strips of sponge rubber.

For a full and more complete understanding of the invention, referencemay be had to the following description and accompanying drawingwherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a rug that is made from a braid encasingsponge rubber in accordance with the precepts of this invention; and

Figure 2 is an enlarged detailed section through one turn of the braidand about on the plane represented by the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Before referring to the drawing, it is to be clearly understood that ayarn that is made from just about any of the fibers, now commonly usedin the production of braids, may be employed. Such yarns are ordinarilymade of cotton, wool, or synthetic fibers, or from a combination of suchfibers. For the purposes of this specification, the particular yamherein described is taken as a wool yarn for illustrative purposes only.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 1, a rug or mat is thereinillustrated and referred to in its entirety by the reference characterR. As illustrated, this rug R is of an elongated or oval shape althoughhere again it is noted that this is not a limitation on this inventionas the rug may assume other shapes, and other articles may be made fromthe braid hereinafter described.

The rug R comprises a plurality of turns 10 which are joined inassembled relation by the stitching represented at 11. Each of the turns10 consists of a figure-eight braid.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 2, the figure-eight braid isshown as comprising two loops 12 and 13 which are connected by thecrossing portion of the yarn represented at 14. Received in the loop 12are two strips of sponge rubber 15 and 16 while two additional strips 17and 18 are received in the loop 13.

A figure-eight braiding machine is now well-known in the braiding artand the operaiton of such a machine readily lends itself to the encasingof the rubber strips. It is also notable that other types of braidingmachines may be utilized to produce braids of other characters in whichone or more strips of sponge rubber are encased by the yarn.

As illustrated by the drawing, two strips of sponge rubber are encasedby each loop of the figure-eight. Here again it is notable that a singlestrip may be employed or strips of a number in excess of two. Each pairof rubber strips is twisted together to achieve the compact constructionillustrated in Figure 2. When a single strip is used, this twisting maybe eliminated.

While it is believed to be possible to join adjacent turns by some meansother than stitching, the invention has particularly in mind the use ofsuch stitching, because it is highly effective on the sponge rubber andmay be readily carried out when the sponge rubber is encased by thebraid.

While a preferred specific embodiment of the invention is hereinbeforeset forth, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not tobe limited to the exact braid, shapes, and designs illustrated anddescribed, be-

cause various modifications of these details may be provided in puttingthe invention into practice within the purview of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A rug comprising a plurality of turns of a figure-eight braid andstitching for joining adjacent turns together, said figure-eight braidcomprising two casing elements joined together with a pair of spongerubber strips of rectangular cross section twisted together and receivedin each of said casing elements.

References Cited in the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS StrussApr. 21, 1891 Kalbach Mar. 25, 1924 Moore Dec. 29, 1936 Marti Apr. 27,1937 Spencer Apr. 4, 1939 Miller Nov. 12, 1940 Cooper Mar. 11, 1952

